TIBNIYA, EGYPT // Dubai's Khalifa Al Mutaiwei and his German co-driver Andreas Schulz stayed on course for the 2012 FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies title as they set the fastest time on the first 547-kilometre section of the Pharaohs International Cross-Country Rally between Cairo and Tibniya in the Egyptian desert today.
"Before the stage I was not feeling well and did not want to push too hard so to win the stage was a bonus," said Al Mutaiwei, who led from the start of the opening special stage in his X-raid Mini All4 Racing and now leads his title rival Jean-Louis Schlesser by 21 minutes, 45 seconds. "There is still a long way to go but it has been a good start."
The event across the Egyptian deserts is the penultimate round of the championship and, being a cross country race rather than a "Baja" it counts for double points in the standings.
Al Mutaiwei - who drives for the Fazza Rally Team - has an eight-point advantage over Schlesser in the drivers' championship, with 60 points available to for the winner of the Egypt event, with 42 for second place and 32 for third.
Al Mutaiwei led Schlesser by one minute, 23 seconds through the first passage control point and extended that lead to one minute, 53 seconds through PC2.
The Emirati driver reached the third checkpoint more than five minutes in front of the Frenchman Regis Delahaye, with Schlesser more than 22 minutes behind.
Al Mutaiwei maintained his composure through the latter kilometres of the stage and completed the stage in two hours, 47 minutes, 17 seconds to secure the stage win and a perfect start to his Egyptian campaign.
Delahaye finished the day in second overall, seven minutes, 25 seconds behind Al Mutaiwei, with another French driver, Patrick Sireyol, third.
Crews will tackle a desert loop stage around the Tibniya bivouac today and then the route heads from Tibniya to Abu Mingar tomorrow. The fourth stage is a loop section around Abu Mingar on Thursday and the penultimate special stage forges its way across the desert towards Tibniya on Friday.
The final stage on Saturday heads from Tibniya to Cairo, where the podium finish will take place in the afternoon.
sports@thenational.ae
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Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist
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What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
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Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
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WHEN TO GO:
September to November or March to May; this is when visitors are most likely to see what they’ve come for.
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Meghauli Serai, A Taj Safari - Chitwan National Park resort (tajhotels.com) is a one-hour drive from Bharatpur Airport with stays costing from Dh1,396 per night, including taxes and breakfast. Return airport transfers cost from Dh661.
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Etihad Airways regularly flies from Abu Dhabi to Kathmandu from around Dh1,500 per person return, including taxes. Buddha Air (buddhaair.com) and Yeti Airlines (yetiairlines.com) fly from Kathmandu to Bharatpur several times a day from about Dh660 return and the flight takes just 20 minutes. Driving is possible but the roads are hilly which means it will take you five or six hours to travel 148 kilometres.
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If you go
Flight connections to Ulaanbaatar are available through a variety of hubs, including Seoul and Beijing, with airlines including Mongolian Airlines and Korean Air. While some nationalities, such as Americans, don’t need a tourist visa for Mongolia, others, including UAE citizens, can obtain a visa on arrival, while others including UK citizens, need to obtain a visa in advance. Contact the Mongolian Embassy in the UAE for more information.
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Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
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She was held in her native country a year later.
